1. Field
The present invention relates to a high-voltage male connector, and more particularly, to a male connector among a pair of high-voltage connectors, which is capable of structurally preventing an electric shock from occurring due to an operator's mistake or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
A first connector which is one of a pair of connectors supplying power to an electric vehicle or the like may be installed in a device such as an inverter or a motor. A second connector which is the other connector may be mounted on the first connector to be attachable to or detachable from the first connector while a power supply cable or the like is connected thereto. In general, a male terminal among terminals of the first and second connectors which form the pair of connectors may be provided at one side and a female terminal may be provided at another side.
The male terminal among these terminals may be provided such that one end thereof is accommodated inside an open housing of a conductor including the male terminal but is likely to be touched by an operator's finger or the like according to the size of an opening of the housing, a depth in which the male terminal is provided, etc., thereby causing a safety accident such as an electric shock to occur.
In particular, the safety of the connector should be verified through a standard test generally performed to decrease the danger of such a safety accident, e.g., a safety test using a standard finger jig according to IEC60529 SPEC IP2XB.
In the safety test using the standard finger jig according to the IEC60529 SPEC IP2XB, whether a terminal of a high-voltage male connector is touched by a finger jig which is an artificial joint having the same shape as a human body's finger is tested. The shape of the finger jig which is a finger-shaped artificial joint has been disclosed but particular design conditions of the size of the terminal of the high-voltage male connector which faces an external opening, the size of a housing of the high-voltage male connector, etc. are not known.
As published related art, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2011-048983 simply discloses that a covering 26 of a pin type terminal unit 22 corresponding to a terminal is thick enough not to be in contact with a finger jig for use in a test but does not provide a guideline about the size of an insertion space. Similarly, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-056919 discloses that a control block unit 58 protrudes at a mouth of a narrow diameter portion 55 corresponding to an inner housing so that a tab 51 corresponding to a terminal may not be accessible by a finger jig for use in a test but does not suggest a particular design range of the size of the inner housing and the like.